that's my "problem" with the uncharted games too. i put that in quotes because i'm willing to pay those games how the devs intended, but only because that's the way to make them truly work. i only sneak when the game asks me to, otherwise i just shoot everything immediately like an action movie

I think Joel probably fucked up. I feel like Ellie at least had some idea what was going to happen and sort of accepted it and Joel maybe should have left well enough alone. And also Ellie might suspect Joel of being full of shit and only didn't call him on it because there's no point anymore.

For all the crap I'll give the game I will say it was very well acted and directed. I don't care for such a cinematic approach to video game storytelling but they do it well. I was sort of half tuned out and I was able to pick that up.

Didn't backtrack at all, so I ended up skipping a bunch of upgrades. My main goal was to get the double foot chip, which is really fun to use. But I don't like how much forced backtracking X3 has... some items have like 47 requirements... at least skipping the X-Buster part makes charging the Z-Saber much faster.

Something I didn't know about X3 for the longest time: Frost Shield and Acid Burst make enemies drop health and ammo (respectively) at a very high rate. Cool little detail, and pretty useful when you need to refill your tanks.

It's nice to play a shmup that doesn't completely destroy me for a change! Great weapons, kick-ass music, and I love how you don't lose unequipped powers when you die (I kind of die a lot in these games... >_>).

I always forget the stage names and end up choosing the hardest one to start with. Guess what? Yep, did it again. But at least I got through the game without a game over, so I'm happy.

I'm slowly getting better at the movement, which is my #1 weakness in Kirby games. Just controlling that little pink balloon is so alien to me, coming from more traditional platformers. I inhale and exhale by accident a lot. And wouldn't it be nice to actually hold on to Fireball for more than 5 seconds without getting hit? >_>

Thanks, ryu! I'm not so good at shmups, so it's nice when I can play one and not get my ass kicked :)

Day 5 - Majuu Ou » Done!

So if anyone's unfamiliar with this weird-ass game: it's a sort-of-horror-themed action sidescroller, starring Generic Dude With Gun. His sprite is comically tiny, but it makes for an interesting scale effect 'cause the monsters and environments seem huge in comparison. It's a unique looking game, for sure.

You can also transform into a number of crazy demon forms. They have the same moves as Dude Mode, like shooting, dodging and such, but the moves have variations between each form. The game wants you to choose between trying all the forms (rewards you with an ultimate form at the final level) or upgrading a single form, which is the path I chose this time. I went with the red boomerang devil thing. The regular attack is a pain to aim, but the charge shot is nice.

Pretty cool game. It could have been great with some kind of addicting gameplay mechanic, or some other thing to master. I also feel like the default dude guy is the most fun to use (shooting demons Resident Evil-style and roll dodging everything). Maybe if the demon forms had bigger differences, and if the guy moved faster, it could have been more replayable. I dunno. But the action is fun and there are some memorable parts.

First blind game of the marathon. Heard great things about this one, and well, IMO it's all true. This is an on-foot rail shooter developed by Treasure. It is ridiculously awesome. Epic set pieces, really fun boss fights.

Struggled big time with the controls... I know they were still figuring this stuff out back in 1999-2000, but using C buttons to move the character just feels disorienting. And then I remembered: hey, I'm playing on... uh... alternative machinery! I can just map the control stick to the right stick and use the d-pad to control the guy. So I did. Yay. Infinite times better.

S&P is hard, but like most Treasure games it's all about learning patterns. By the second game over I was back where I failed in like 15-20 minutes.

Instant Top 10 N64 game for me. It was either this or Yoshi's Story for my blind "modern" game. Pretty happy with my choice!

Konami somehow made four very unique Classicvania games with CV3, 4, Rondo and this. As far as I'm concerned, they're all excellent. Would've been easy for them to just re-design CV1 for the nth time (or heavily recycle another game like Hyperstone Heist), but they gave Bloodlines all these cool new settings, crazy bosses, and its own mechanics and presentation.

I played as John. His whip isn't as OP as Simon's in CV4, but it's still pretty useful. I love the electric whip upgrade and the orb weapon.

One cool trick that I don't know if it works as Lecarde: if you hold the attack button, the whip hits twice. Doesn't seem to work on bosses, but for those sturdy brute enemies like Axe Armors it is quite helpful.

So this is... Alucard, right? Sorry, buddy, no Crissaegrim for you here. This is a Castlevania spin-off, but it plays kind of like Mega Man. It's a platform shooter with reasonable jump controls, possibly the fastest charge shot in history (seriously, it's like a 1 frame full charge), and you earn a new power after each boss. The powers range from new shot types to extra mobility, like flying as a bat Alucard-style.

There's nothing terribly difficult about this game until the vertical auto-scroller, which is borderline BS. But you can try it over and over and it's a pretty short segment. There's also a quiz "boss fight" that's in Japanese, and of course I use a guide for that!

One cool trick that I don't know if it works as Lecarde: if you hold the attack button, the whip hits twice. Doesn't seem to work on bosses, but for those sturdy brute enemies like Axe Armors it is quite helpful.

First time playing as Lucia! She's great with her kick combos and her "Shoryu-kick". I dunno if I still prefer my dudes Guy and Haggar, have to play them again.

This game is really cool. It fixed everything that was uninteresting about FF2 and added its own touches like alternate paths, super moves and CPU co-op. Chaining moves and buffering supers is so much fun. Unlike FF2, which was basically an easier reskin of the original, this one actually feels like a proper sequel.

Apparently they nerfed the coolest thing about Final Fight combat (IMO), which is mid-combo throws. They seem harder to perform. But it's not like you don't have alternatives here.

IMO, this is easily up there with the Genesis' platforming giants like Sonic, Kid Chameleon and Dynamite Headdy. The grab mechanic is sweet and it encourages experimenting (climbing walls and such). Levels are varied and super tightly designed (Sonata! <3). I also appreciate how challenging some of the bosses can be, though sometimes not for the best reasons... like often not knowing when they're safe to grab. And man, the presentation is amazing.

The only major thing I haven't done in this game is collect all the treasures. I never know where all the bonus launchers are. Something to look forward to... although I wish there was a reward for getting them like Super Sonic. Last time I played this I finished the OHKO mode, which... let's just say it wasn't quite as enjoyable as usual... >_>